Here's hoping Pussy Riot makes up its mind and refocuses its energies on the Putin regime. Otherwise, their two years behind bars will translate into the proverbial 15 minutes of fame, and their courage and sacrifice will be written not in history books but in the wind.

The Hatchet may be on the opposite end of the political spectrum from the ultra-liberal feminists of Pussy Riot, yet like the women he was silenced for exercising Russia's constitutionally protected right to free speech.

As his daughter Jewher Ilham accepted the award on his behalf, she had one last request from the luminaries in the room, who included James Salter, Jennifer Egan, John Waters and even members of Pussy Riot: support the campaign for her father's release online with the hashtag #FreeIlham.

The crafting of Putin's new Euro-Asian vision -- in effect a new "Greater Russia" assembled from the remnants of the old Soviet Union in Central Asia and Europe -- has been greased by a pipeline delivery system under the Kremlin's control.

The first thing you'll hear upon arrival at the Yaroslavsky Rail Terminal in Russia's capital is a warning that no "extremist activities" will be tolerated by law enforcement, suggesting it's a government priority Number One these days. And it is, kind of.

When we contemplate the tactical and strategic decisions on Russia, we need to keep in mind the conflict we have always had of how to push back on an illiberal regime, while at the same time send a message of friendship and even love to the Russian people.

The women of Pussy Riot were attacked again today. This time by six men at a McDonald's restaurant in the city of Nizhny Novgorod. They were attacked with garbage, pepper spray and green antiseptic, leaving them with chemical burns and head injuries.

When we arrived to visit a women's prison with our prison-reform organization, unknown men attacked us with blinding liquid. We believe the attack was sanctioned by the Russian Federal Security Service.